my art diary or how to make (or at least think about making) art while spending quality time with the day job, family, friends & dogs (not in any particular order)

Sunday, June 7, 2015

photography

we just returned from yellowstone.

this is my first trip with the nikon d800 and the new tamron 150-600 lens. photography was my first artistic discipline. I used to shoot a completely manual camera. didn't shoot for a long time and then came digital. i've spent the past few years remembering how to shoot manually- paying more attention to lighting, aperture, learning to use cameras that could probably drive my car if I knew how to program them to do so.photography is an interesting medium because people quite often think that they can take the same photo themselves, unless the shot is very unique in aspect or presentation. I have spent a lot of years taking photos to use as inspiration for paintings or as components of mixed media work. i just couldn't charge enough for framed work to make it worth keeping the inventory. and while i have some good shots of birds and animals and landscapes they weren't compelling people to hand over cash to own them. (tho i am often told i "have a good eye" at art shows)i've been lucky to have some friends who are good photographers challenge and teach me over the past few years. my friend pamela is a very bad influence in the gear department (or good, depending on how one looks at it- i have her to thank for the upgraded camera & lens). shooting with her also pushes me to become better, because she is so good at what she does, and so willing to share her knowledge. david and i would discuss art when hanging the gallery monthly. what we thought worked and didn't and why. we were very honest in our critiques of each other's work, which helped both of us improve. we didn't discuss gear so much, bc he's a canon guy.i feel like i am finally getting it- using the right gear (tho i have to figure out how to manage it more easily), seeing the right things and capturing the images well- because it doesn't matter how great your eye is or how good your gear is, if the technical aspect is missing it just doesn't work.i am tickled with the shots below because not only are they in focus and correctly exposed (yay me!) they tell a story. i have plenty of "bear in the woods" shots- these are more. some of that is being lucky enough to come upon these guys when we did, but not all.

as i was going through my photos, i was pleased to see that i had captured images of the babies with their moms to provide a sense of scale. i was equally happy to have captured the gawkiness of the babies on their own.﻿

i feel so fortunate to be able to go to yellowstone and shoot for 4 days with great equipment. i am so happy to feel like i have captured some of what it's like to be there. ﻿

the other camera in my bag is my sony nex5- a mirrorless dslr. i opted for this instead of my d300 because it is lighter and easier to pack and captures images just as well (when i don't mess it up). still figuring this one out, bc it has an electronic viewfinder, and i can't always tell if i'm in focus or not. but there are lots of fun options, it's light and has a great 18-200 lens, which makes it my go to landscape and macro camera if i don't want to carry/change lenses on the d800.

i am planning a series of paintings of my animal photographs- it will be interesting to see what comes next-

1 comment:

Mamrianne, your photos of Yellowstone have me drooling! You saw Calypso Orchids! And lots of Mamas and babies! I'm still learning the 4/3 system, but I love the lightness of the camera and the lens. Sounds as though you continue to keep busy both at work and at home. Enjoy the rest of your summer.